Chrisbangle

Now here's a juicy rumor. Word on the web is that Chris Bangle may be looking to step back into the auto-design mainstream by revisiting one of his former employers. Don't expect new BMW models to be wearing any of the guy's influences though. From what we understand from our Google Translator, Caradisiac believes that Bangle would be the perfect choice for Fiat to give its products an extra level of pizzazz as the company wades even deeper into international waters.

There's little question Chris Bangle is one of the greatest designers of his generation. His cars were rarely pretty, but their influence resonated around the automotive world like a pipe bomb in an echo chamber. Much like cutting edge graphic design is born inside art school graduate schools years before it's ready for massive public consumption, Bangle's Bimmers were ahead of their time. And they changed nearly everything. Controversial? Of course, but that's how the public digests new design.

For those who have been wondering when and where lightning-rod designer Chris Bangle will surface again, Automotive News has some scuttlebutt for you. According to the industry publication, the controversial BMW stylist has some plans of his own – for a new design studio.

Earlier this week, the automobile world was shocked with news that BMW Design Chief Chris Bangle was not only retiring from his duties at BMW, but leaving the auto realm entirely. Say what you want about the direction that Bangle took BMW styling, but there's no evidence that the automaker wanted to see him go. In fact, all indications are that the German automaker wanted him to stay, even extending offers to take on other roles within the company.

Chris Bangle, who left BMW earlier this week to move "beyond the automobile," did not create the butt that bears his name – Adrian van Hooydonk did. But most importantly, Bangle did not stand behind that butt; he stood in front of it. It was Bangle's vision for not just BMW, but for automobiles entirely, that allowed that bustle butt to come into existence. Two new essays that look at BMW design before Bangle and the scope of automotive design after Bangle are well worth reading, even if y

You won't have Chris Bangle to kick around anymore. The BMW Group design chief famously (or infamously, depending on your point of view) took BMW styling in a radical new direction beginning with the 2002 7-Series, a car that featured the extremely controversial "Bangle Bustle," and then really pushed the envelope (and some enthusiasts' patience) with the "flame-surfaced" 2002 Z4. The automaker's designs have mainstreamed considerably in the intervening years, but Bangle's impact is without ques

The BMW GINA Light Visionary Model was not only about doing more with your car, it was about multiplying the concept of what kind of object a car could be. BMW's design chief ,Chris Bangle, the man behind the BMW GINA Concept, was a recent guest professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and brought the vision of GINA with him.

We're waiting with bated breath for the December 15 unveiling of the all-new BMW Z4, but as we inch closer to Z-day we're getting a clearer picture of how the redesigned roadster will look. On Wednesday we caught a glimpse of the Z4 that revealed much smoother, very un-Bangle-looking side panels. Above is the newest Z4 teaser, and as you can see, its a booty shot. The first thing we noticed was the bulging rear wheel arch, which gives the Z4 a more sporting personality than its predecessor. BMW

BMW's future flagship 7-Series sedan has been spotted in Melbourne, Australia on its way back from a photo shoot. Not due until 2009, this all-new platform will carry BMW's internal designation F01/F02 (the F02 is the long-wheelbase model). It is expected to go into production later this year with cars rolling into showrooms shortly thereafter.

The ActiveHybrid system is the result of BMW's collaboration with GM and the former DaimlerChrysler, the Global Hybrid Cooperation. Their goal has been to engineer a modular two-mode hybrid system that can be modified in its behavior and function to suit the dynamics customary to the brand using it. Obviously, BMW is using it to fuel its proclaimed image of providing "Sheer Driving Pleasure," meaning sport performance preferred over economy. Nonetheless, the German engineers who obviously wrote

The build-up to the debut of the BMW X6 is nigh, and in addition to the de-camo'd mule that was spied earlier today, the boys from Bavaria have decided to let Chris Bangle explain the design ethos of the new SAV in front of a cloaked concept.

We just showed you spy shots of a heavily disguised 7-series a couple of weeks ago, but here is an artist's interpretation of the new 7 in the raw. With an oh-so-sexy 6-series nose grafted to the formidable sedan, it makes quite an impression. Losing some of the flame-surfacing that Chris Bangle has made into a household joke name, at least among car geeks, the more subtly styled 7 appears to be taking the more conservative road, leaving rival Mercedes alone on the cutting edge, or the cutting r